The NDP government in British Columbia recently negotiated a treaty with the Nisga'a Indians of the remote Upper Nass Valley in northwestern B.C. The treaty is the first in B.C. between Natives and the government in almost 140 years and would give the 5,400 Nisga'a people title to 1,930 square kilometres of land, control over the forests and other natural resources in the area, and about $200 million in compensation payments. The pact will also set up Native government over these lands and provide for a Nisga'a police force and justice system.

The Nisga'a deal certainly is a legal landmark and could have profound implications on Native land claims and demands for self-government in all parts of Canada, including Saskatchewan. The positives are that in exchange for land and their own government, the Nisga'a will no longer be subject to the Indian Act, the Nisga'a reserve would no longer exist, and members of the band would no longer be exempt from sales and income taxes.

But other than that, taxpayers should be very concerned about the treaty's other provisions. First and foremost, is the total cost of the deal. Before the papers were signed the cost was expected to be $191 million.

But by the time the ink was dry, the amount had risen to $317 million, and now the price tag for the new treaty sits at $488 million. It may escalate even higher when all is said and done.

B.C Premier Glen Clark has held up the treaty as a template for negotiations with the other 50 Indian groups that collectively lay claim to the entire B.C. landmass. The implication of this for taxpayers is mind-boggling. For example, if we accept the half-billion dollar figure, that works out to around $90,000 per Nisga'a. And if we multiply that figure by the 150,000 Natives not covered by treaties in B.C. the total comes to over $13 billion!

But it isn't just the taxpayers of B.C. who will bear the burden, the bulk of the billions in cash settlements will come from taxpayers in the rest of Canada, Saskatchewan included.

The treaty has also been criticized for violating the fundamental principle of democracy of 'no taxation without representation'. If the treaty goes through, non-Native Canadians who live within Nisga'a territory will be turned into second class-citizens - subject to Nisga'a laws and taxes but not able to vote for the Nisga'a government.

Lastly, there is the actual treaty process itself. There has never been any genuine public consultation. The government forged the deal behind closed doors and has resisted any attempt to allow the public to scrutinize or modify the deal. Of course, before the treaty comes into force, it needs ratification in a Nisga'a-only referendum. But considering the fact that the treaty creates a whole new level of government supported by taxpayers, all the people of the province should be entitled to a vote in a province-wide referendum.

If the treaty process in B.C. is any indication of the shape of things to come in terms of government negotiated land claims and Native self-government, taxpayers everywhere should be concerned- very concerned.